Singapore shares extended gains yesterday, boosted by sustained optimism over the easing of lockdowns.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) recorded its third climb in a row, ending at 2,700.39, up 88.76 points or 3.4 per cent.
The STI's performance also tracked Wall Street's overnight rally on the back of lifted investor sentiment over stimulus measures and the reopening of economies.
Gainers outnumbered losers 311 to 200, and 1.94 billion shares worth $2.51 billion changed hands.
Mr Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp, said: "A scintillating start to the month for global equity markets as investors put virtually every concern on the universal wall of worry behind them, while reacting positively to coronavirus lockdowns being eased across the globe."
Markets have seemingly put aside fears over the possibility of a second wave of infections, renewed United States-China tensions and the unrest on the streets of America.
Among the STI constituents, the best performer was ComfortDelGro, which rose 8.1 per cent to $1.61. It was also the most heavily traded stock of the day, with over 70 million shares changing hands.
The local banks emerged among the top five best-performing STI counters. DBS climbed 7.9 per cent to $21.80, United Overseas Bank was up 6.6 per cent to $21.60, while OCBC Bank rose 5.3 per cent to $9.36. The three biggest losers on the index were Mapletree Logistics Trust, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, which were down 3 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
The STI's performance was in line with other regional benchmarks.
Hong Kong climbed 1.37 per cent, while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.07 per cent.
Japan gained 1.3 per cent, its highest closing level since Feb 21. This comes as the yen rapidly weakened overnight against both the US dollar and the euro, on optimism that the worst of the economic downturn from the Covid-19 crisis is over as well as on hopes of additional support from European policymakers.
South Korea ended up 2.87 per cent to close at a three-month-plus high, led by blue chips such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor.
Malaysia closed 2.05 per cent up.
"If I look at the markets, I see a V-shaped recovery," Mr Mark Mobius, co-founder of Mobius Capital Partners, told Bloomberg TV. "That's what the markets are telling us."
